Proverbs 1:31. therefore [the fool] shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.
We’ve said that wisdom is skill in navigating the complexities of life. Wisdom is understanding, knowledge, and discernment that lets us live the good life that God intended for us. In addition, there is no good life without the fear of God. Why not? Because God is the author and creator of all of life and all the principles that make life good.
One of the most important principles in scripture is that we reap what we sow. Or to say it another way, we eat the fruit of our way. Today’s proverb is a warning. The fool eats their own fruit. They are full of their own devices. In other words, choices have consequences, don’t they? We all understand that. But the fool actually thinks that the consequences of their foolish ways are good, tasty, delightful, and desirable.
The wise person does something foolish, experiences the consequences as suffering, and then works hard to never repeat that same mistake.
The fool does something foolish, but sees their foolishness as good or at least harmless. The womanizer has a casual liaison and believes that it’s all just sex. The gossip enjoys a laugh at someone else’s expense and believes there is no harm done. The angry man is always justified in his anger. The controlling woman has to make sure things get done, or no one else will. These fools are eating their own rotten fruit and believing it to be healthy.
In the New Testament, it says that the worst punishment God can give is to give us up to our own foolish desires.
Romans 1:24. Therefore God gave them up in the desires of their hearts.
He let us do whatever we want. His wrath lets us eat our rotten fruit. His anger at our sin lets us have the fill of our own devices.
Christian, God will let his sons and daughters whom he loves experience the consequences of their ways. Often these are natural consequences. There are natural consequences to our casual sex outside marriage, to our gossiping about others, to our anger and our controlling behavior. Sometimes God will let us keep going down a sinful path until our lives get so bad we have no other choice but to turn back to him. When God does this it’s because he loves us, and he wants us to see just how destructive our sin is.
But remember, when your life is united to Christ’s you have a brand new heart full of brand new desires. Because Jesus loves us, we will desire by the Spirit to love God and love others in return. Yes, we can still be fools who get sucked into our sin. But that sin, that fruit, will always taste rotten to someone who is united to Christ.
You: How are you actively experiencing the consequences of your foolishness?Or, in what ways is God making your sin taste rotten to you?
You in Christ: In Christ, we can reverse course on a foolish path at any moment. We are never too far gone. Where might you need to make a U-turn today?
Christ in you: How can you allow Christ in you to satisfy you today more than your sin satisfies you?
Pray: Father, I don’t want to be a fool who finds sin to be satisfying. Help me to taste the rottenness of my sin, and to trust your wisdom over my own. Amen.
To Live is Christ 